Being outside in the sunshine and among nature is a thing I never take for granted.... anymore. Being born and raised in Colorado gave me a sense of entitlement to TONS of natural beauty and outdoor resources. Hiking, camping, skiing, hell.. picnicing, all turn into amazing outtings when done in Colorado's national and state forests and parks. It wasn't until I moved to Kansas, which doesn't have any national forests (most of land is privately own by farmers) that I realized what a rare gift it was to have lived my life in Colorado. I know, I know... boo hoo... but the land poverty I experience now makes me so grateful for the times I do find myself in a beautiful setting.

I'm always looking for un-fenced land and trails to follow and I found this little piece of heaven when I was exploring one of the larger parks in my area. I took a long walk and looked around for cool stuff. I startled a beaver; too far from his damn for comfort he gallop away in terror. I saw a spider whose body was the size of a soup spoon (woah!) and yards of her intricate webbing damp with left over rain. I saw baby ducks. I listened to the wind blow through tree limbs and to birds chirping. I sunned my shoulders and back and broke a sweat in the sunshine taking photographs. And then I remembered to be grateful for being outside and I thanked the universe for giving me such a beautiful day. I hope you're enjoying yours!